Question:
My 7 year old daughter was just diagnosed 2 months ago. Her pediatrician (not an endocrinologist) suggests trying to keep her glucose levels between 100 and 200 for reasons of avoiding hypoglycemic symptoms (at school, camp, etc.). Is there any set rule about proper levels for children? Does tissue damage occur at levels near 200, and does this damage take place over lengthy periods of high levels or just if she goes high once a day?
My daughter is not symptomatic until she falls below 72.
Answer:
At 7 years of age your daughter should soon be able
to recognize hypoglycemia and to take steps to deal with it. For that
reason it would be better to aim at a range of blood sugar levels of
80 to 180 mg/dl. Occasional spikes in the 200 to 400 mg/dl range don't
seem to have any recognisable ill effect, there is however evidence that
persistent A1c levels that are greater than 10% above the upper limit of
the normal range for the method cumulatively contribute to eventual
microvascular disease in the retina and in the kidney.
DO'B
Original posting 28 Dec 96
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